Talk:Lewis Hamilton

is there an article here beyond the gushing?

not going to question the guys sporting achievements (not gonna mention differences in f1 cars being more significant than ever. schumacher won his first championship in a bennetton. just saying) but lets be a bit more realistic over his other achievements. such as what are they? hes made some statements around diversity, global inequality, racism. the only black face on the grid, ive no doubt he is very keenly aware of the lack of diversity in f1. keenly aware of the issues around racism, being subjected to himself. his success and events elsewhere in the world, blm for example, no better time than now to show support for such things. not gonna criticise that. Formula 1 though, is fair game.

formula 1 has seen its audience drift away for years now. its desperate to gain wider appeal. they really cant believe their luck that the only black driver in f1 (currently, and maybe ever but not certain there) is also current world champ. hes the tiger woods of f1, and they arnt about to shutdown his social activism and popular appeal when they can leverage it for it for much needed pr. especially now with covid going on - if not for hamilton, f1 would likely barely register with anyone - except condemnation for its support for repressive regimes.

'we race as one' is f1 riding on hamiltons fame. its probably too early to make an assessment of what that will achieve, but lets be honest here, this is formula 1. hamilton is not just a rarity for being the sole black driver, hes a rarity for once having lived in a council flat. f1 is an expensive sport. go karting, where all the drivers started as kids, is an expensive hobby. it requires significant financial investment, to make a go of that. you are not going to get many working class kids with the funding to even compete, let alone excel. its not football, where even in extreme poverty you can kick a ball around and be the next pele. diversty in f1 will at best be diversity in the pit crews. the help essentially.

as for f1 going to africa, you have to wonder why they arent there already. or why they routinely abandon races at hockenheim - historic circuit for f1, but bahrain is always on the calender and recently saudi arabia. they are not in africa, not because of apartheid, thats only why they are not in south africa, but because revenue would not be high enough for them. they are not in hockenheim fore the same reasons - not lucerative enough. bahrain though, they pay top dollar. saudi arabia, where it became legal to drive only this year and stones to death gays and atheists, the latest stop on f1 world tour. 'we race as one' doesnt include the gays it seems.

hamilton is f1s biggest star. hes using that the best he can to increase awareness of some worthy causes, but theres a limit to what he can achieve by simply being famous and having an opinion. and despite his own experiences of racism, and his own ordinary background, he is currently right now the wealthiest british sportsman in a sport that is fantastically expensive, even at the entry level where it is children competing. its difficult to take seriously someones concerns on global inequality, no matter how heartfelt, when they have 130 million pound bank balance earned by driving in events giving prestige to regimes that rule with a medieval barbarity. AMassiveGay (talk) 15:13, 3 January 2021 (UTC)

this just a puff piece

it really is. having an opinion is not the same as achievement AMassiveGay (talk) 14:02, 7 February 2021 (UTC)